Bonnie: Air Cooled Vs Water Cooled

I'm in the air-cooled camp. My main thing is that it's simply one less system to go wrong. Having had a bit of a discussion on here about my choices I specifically chose to buy two older Bonnies rather than a new one as I wanted to avoid LC and all the other additional 'failure points' that they have added in. As far as I am concerned the simpler the system the better. I also don't really see the need for liquid cooling, living in Scotland where you might get one or two days a year where a non-LC bike might overheat in traffic I used to ride a Suzuki GSX750ES (oil cooled) in all weathers and never once suffered an overheat so, hopefully my two Bonnie's won't suffer any such problems either. It also helps that, living in Argyll, I rarely even come close to finding myself in a traffic jam.

I do have to say that I find my carb'ed, 2001 790cc with Toga exhaust, re-jetting and, according to the service history, "air induction system removed" the meaning of which I only have a basic idea of, is much more spritely, responsive and simply 'alive' than my 2015 T100 with EFI. The T100 is a genteel lady (her name is Evelyn) and the 790 (called Britt because of her airbrushed Union jacks) is a hooligan.

 

yes I has pollution gear removed ruins much better I like the efi system better than carbs

 

My 865 carbed T100 midrange was transformed by de-restricting induction and exhaust. More torquey and tractable all round. Your T100 is just a bit muzzled and could easily be perked up.

The key difference between air and water cooling is thermal stability - the latter allows for finer tolerances, fuel efficiency/tauter emissions and less mechanical noise. The downside is minor increased weight and mechanical complexity. Tightening emissions have driven water cooling more than anything else.

 

Yes that is very well explaned also I believe you will get a lot more miles from a water cooled engine i had a bmw k100 i did 180,000km when i sold it had to replace the dif being shaft drive at 140000km my honda deauville being water cooled has 143000km on it its shaft drive all i have done to it is change the fork seals and the discs still going well

 

I have the same bike and doing the same and mine was built in uk which makes it even better!

 

My air cooled 2008 EFI Bonneville America has 135,000 km on the speedometer. She still running fine and I've heard from JCS Triumph Dealership that she's not the "Highest Mileage" they know of ! There's one with 200,000 out there in the wide west of West Australia.

 

From my quite basic research on the evolution of the modern Bonnie the changes - From carb to EFi and from Air cooled to Liquid cooled is as @Callumity points out, entirely done for reasons of meeting ever tighter pollution legislation in Europe. I have read that it was felt that, although not at it's absolute limits by the time it was discontinued, the air cooled Bonnie was felt to be getting dangerously close to falling foul of ever tightening limits and so they decided to move to liquid cooling. Personally I will take air-cooled and 360 degree firing patterned early British Hinckley Bonnie's over the LC'ed EFi'ed, 270 degree firing pattern Thai bikes every single time. I have a 2014 Thai built Bonnie and I have to say that, while she looks good in her white and gold livery and the sound of her engine isn't unpleasant, I look at her and I don't see, or hear, a 'Brit bike'. I have been seriously considering seeing if I can trade her off for another Hinckley Bonnie (Got a particular soft spot for the Sky Blue and silver 2002 model).

 

I was going to upgrade my 865 Bonnie for a T120 at one point.
But found that the T120 handling wasn't as good, I haven't checked but they seem to have increased the wheelbase and it pushes the front a bit more through tight corners and bends.
Also, as already mentioned, preferred the feel of the older engine as well, so stuck wth the 865 at the time.

 

Interesting thread. So funny how people are so opposed to advancements and they are advancements. Water cooling is great. Especially if your stuck in traffic in London where road width has been dramatically reduced to facilitate the pedal brigade and oversized bus lanes. In 2004 I bought a new air cooled Bonneville T100 and in 2018 I bought a water cooled T100. Straight out of the packet the newer version is far superior on every level.
I had to do a lot of post production to make the 2004 version not sound like a Singer sewing machine and respond dynamically. The later version you don’t need to touch. It sounds better. It’s acceptable. If you want noise then yes by an old machine, but if you want a great machine that handles beautifully and performs superbly the new water cooled versions are the way to go. I loved my 2004 version but it was noisy and the carburettors were prone to failing in extreme wet weather at speed on the motorway. Failed me a couple of times. The fuel injection on the 2018 Bonneville I find superb in doing a much better job of delivering performance and engine management. Recently a cynical old biker wandered up to my 2018 bike and said it didn’t sound like a Triumph, I said ‘It does to me’. He looked dumped by life and by his bike. I’ve owned vintage bikes and I know their short falls. The moment you turn the key and before you hit ignition on the later models it sounds great. There’s a sweet werrring and the needles fly up and the lights flash and my son thinks it’s very Iron Man. Well at least it’s not Cindy doll. After you’ve ridden a water cooled machine you’ll start dreaming again.

 

Yes i am in the air cooled camp. My 2010 was fantastic and performed better than my 2018 and sounded better. I regret selling it. And i never had any over heating problems ever. The pipes used to brown up a little but i got the solvol and hey presto shiny again.
Joe.

 

Old school is more cool. I've ridden the newer water cooled triumphs and prefer the older air cooled versions for looks, sounds and feel.
A mate was all lined up to buy a new street twin. He took one for a test ride and I accompanied him on my 09 865.
During the ride we swapped bikes.
I was very glad to get back on my own bike and my mate ended up buying a pre owned air cooled bonnie as he liked it much more than newer version.
Each to there own.

 

It is great to see an old thread from 2019 being revived and the debate being still revelant today.
There is no doubt that the question about old or new bikes will polarise opinion. For me they each have their own attributes that make them desirable. IMO it comes down to personal choice and at the end of the day I'm sure there are many that have both old and new bikes in their garage and enjoy both.

 

I tried the water-cooled Street and liked it very much.